Syrian shells hit Israeli-occupied Golan: army

JERUSALEM: Mortar rounds believed to be have been fired from Syria hit the southern Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday without causing damage or casualties, the army said."Several shells landed and were found in an open area in the southern Golan Heights, most likely due to the fighting in Syria," a spokesman told AFP."No injuries or damages were caused. The incident was reported...

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New public involvement project on the anvil: Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chief

MUMBAI: Justice A M Thipsay of the Bombay high court on Saturday said while its true that Indian needs more energy, the important question when it comes to Nuclear power plants is how to ensure safety first. "Rules need to be very clear as safety of people is more important and there needs to be no ambiguity."The judge was present at a meet on India's Nuclear Energy sector held by the Nuclear Law...

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WHO: Slight cancer risk after Japan nuke accident

LONDON (AP) — Two years after Japan's nuclear plant disaster, an international team of experts said Thursday that residents of areas hit by the highest doses of radiation face an increased cancer risk so small it probably won't be detectable.In fact, experts calculated that increase at about 1 extra percentage point added to a Japanese infant's lifetime cancer risk."The additional risk is quite small...

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Sequester: What Will Happen, What Won't Happen

When it comes to critical elements of the sequester timeline, not much is known -- because federal agencies have been tight lipped.Asked when specific effects will be felt, officials at three federal departments declined to discuss the timing of sequester cuts and their consequences. Some departments were waiting for President Obama's Friday night sequester order and subsequent...

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Motor Racing: Button sets pace on second day of testing in Barcelona

  BARCELONA: Britain's Jenson Button, of McLaren, was quickest on a wet second morning of the final pre-season testing of the winter in Barcelona on Friday.Button, the 2009 world champion, was 0.216 seconds quicker than Germany's Adrian Sutil, driving for Force India in conditions that started off very wet before beginning to dry up.Sutil's impressive performance came a day after...

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J&K assembly adjourned after furore over Afzal issue

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was rocked by repeated disruptions on Friday, which ultimately led to the House being adjourned for the day, as various parties demanded that Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mortal remains be handed over to his family. Cutting across party lines, members of the House from the ruling National Conference as well as opposition PDP and CPM had moved adjournment...

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WHO: Slight cancer risk after Japan nuke accident

LONDON (AP) — Two years after Japan's nuclear plant disaster, an international team of experts said Thursday that residents of areas hit by the highest doses of radiation face an increased cancer risk so small it probably won't be detectable.In fact, experts calculated that increase at about 1 extra percentage point added to a Japanese infant's lifetime cancer risk."The additional risk is quite small...

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Sequester Set to Trigger Billions in Cuts

Nobody likes the sequester.Even the word is enough to send shivers of fiscal panic, or sheer political malaise, down the spines of seasoned politicians and news reporters. And today, the sequester will almost certainly happen, a year and a half after its inception as an intentionally unpalatable event amid the stalemate of the debt-limit crisis in 2011.Automatic budget cuts will...

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US economy grows 0.1% in Q4

WASHINGTON: The US economy grew slightly in the fourth quarter last year, the government said Thursday, revising its prior estimate of a small contraction.Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 0.1 per cent in the October-December period, the Commerce Department said in its second official estimate. In its initial estimate in January, GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent.The revision...

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Trinamool Congress minister wins assembly bypoll

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress minister Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury won the Assembly by-election from English Bazar constituency in Malda district on Thursday with a margin of 20,452 votes. Choudhary defeated his nearest CPM rival Kaushik Mishra. In the other two constituencies of Rejinagar and Nalhati, the Congress and Forward Bloc are leading respectively, State Election Commissioner Sunil Gupta...

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Medicare paid $5.1B for poor nursing home care

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Medicare paid billions in taxpayer dollars to nursing homes nationwide that were not meeting basic requirements to look after their residents, government investigators have found.The report, released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general, said Medicare paid about $5.1 billion for patients to stay in skilled nursing facilities that failed to...

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Benedict Pledges 'Obedience' to New Pope

In his farewell remarks to colleagues in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years, promised "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his eventual successor.Benedict, in a morning meeting at the Vatican, urged the cardinals to act "like an orchestra" to find "harmony" moving forward.Benedict, 85, is spending a quiet final day...

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Study finds donkey meat in South African burgers

JOHANNESBURG: Unlike Europeans, South Africans do not unwittingly eat horsemeat in their beef burgers and sausages, but they do eat donkey, water buffalo and goat meat, according to a study by the Stellenbosch University.Over two thirds of meat products tested contained undeclared ingredients, according to a recent research study, prompted by revelations about food production in Europe."Our...

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Babbar Khalsa terrorist arrested in Punjab

AMRITSAR: (IANS) A Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist with a reward of Rs.10 lakh on his head has been arrested in Punjab, police said Wednesday.Narain Singh Chaura was arrested Tuesday evening in Jalalabad village of the border district of Tarn Taran, some 300 km from Chandigarh. Chaura was booked under the provisions of the Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Amritsar...

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Advanced breast cancer edges up in younger women

CHICAGO (AP) — Advanced breast cancer has increased slightly among young women, a 34-year analysis suggests. The disease is still uncommon among women younger than 40, and the small change has experts scratching their heads about possible reasons.The results are potentially worrisome because young women's tumors tend to be more aggressive than older women's, and they're much less likely to get routine...

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Pope Thanks Crowd in Final Address

On his final full day as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI thanked a huge crowd for respecting his historic decision to step down and told them that God will continue to guide the church."The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God's will and a deep love of Christ's Church," Benedict said to cheers in his last public...

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Italy faces post-vote stalemate, spooking investors

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian stock market fell and state borrowing costs rose on Tuesday as investors took fright at political deadlock after a stunning election that saw a comedian's protest party lead the poll and no group secure a clear majority in parliament. "The winner is: Ingovernability" ran the headline in Rome newspaper Il Messaggero, reflecting the stalemate the country would...

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Mobile makers set sights on grandparents

BARCELONA: As smartphone giants Apple and Samsung battle for the wallets of tech-savvy youngsters, a growing number of manufacturers is trying to lure a fast-growing new market: their grandparents.Handset makers at the world's biggest mobile fair in Barcelona, Spain, showed off a slew of new devices aimed at the hundreds of millions of older people put off by the complexity of the latest...

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Islamic scholars condemn killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan

MUMBAI: A group of Islamic scholars today called upon international bodies like United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and governments across the world to devise ways to put an end to killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan. "It is extremely shameful," Islamic scholar Maulana Sayed Ahmedalo Abidi, Imam-e-Juma Khoja Jama Masjid Dongri and Principal of Houza Ilmiya Najifi House,...

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First Lady Sees 'Movement' in Childhood Obesity

As she celebrates the third anniversary of her Let's Move! initiative, first lady Michelle Obama told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts that the country is seeing real "movement" on the issue of childhood obesity."We've really changed the conversation in this country. When we started, there were a lot of people in this country who would have never thought that childhood...

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Syria opposition threat clouds first Kerry overseas tour

LONDON: New US Secretary of State John Kerry met British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday at the start of a get-acquainted tour of Europe and the Middle East, but the Syrian conflict threatened to taint the trip.US officials were trying to persuade the Syrian opposition to reconsider its threat to boycott an international meeting in Rome on Thursday, which was to be the centrepiece...

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Ishrat case: Police officers' custody extended till Feb 28

AHMEDABAD: A local court today extended the custody of two police officers, Tarun Barot and Bharat Patel, arrested on Saturday by CBI in connection with alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan, for three more days. Additional chief judicial magistrate H S Khutwad said "The accused police officers have been remanded to police custody till February 28 for further interrogation." The agency had earlier...

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

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Best Moments From the Academy Awards

Host Seth MacFarlane took the stage at the 2013 Oscars with an opening monologue revealing he was ready to poke fun at the star-studded audience."The quest to make Tommy Lee Jones laugh begins now," he said.But it wasn't too long before MacFarlane was interrupted. William Shatner, dressed as his iconic character Captain Kirk from "Star Trek," descended on the stage to warn MacFarlane that he...

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Frustrated Italians vote in crucial election for euro zone

ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years, with pent-up fury over a discredited elite adding to concern it may not produce a government strong enough to lead Italy out of an economic slump. The election, which concludes on Monday afternoon, is being followed closely by investors; their memories are still fresh of...

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